Lift force determining an optimal lift assist mechanism

ABSTRACT

A desired range of lift force to raise a window shade is used to select the window shade hardware such as, for example, the optimal LAM. A desired lift force may be 5 pounds for ADA compliance. However, if the user wants to exert less effort to lift the window shade, the user may request an increased lift force of 6 or 7 pounds. Therefore, if a lift force range between 3-8.5 pounds is desired, the system selects the optimal LAM to maintain and guarantee that the lift force required to operate the shades will not exceed the desired range of between 3-8.5 pounds.

FIELD

The disclosure generally relates to a configurator, and morespecifically, to systems and methods for a range of lift forcedetermining an optimal lift assist mechanism for a window shade.

BACKGROUND

A window shade system often uses different springs to create a liftassist mechanism (known as a “LAM”). FIG. 1 shows an exemplary LAMwithin a window shade system and FIG. 2 shows the components anexemplary LAM. When the window shade is lowered, the spring in the LAMis wound up, so it stores potential energy. When the shade is raised,the LAM releases potential energy to assist with the lifting. As such,the LAM helps to reduce the pull force required on the chain to rotatethe shade tube and lift the window shade. The chain rotates the shadetube and the shade tube causes the window shade to rise in response tothe window shade being rolled up onto the shade tube. The appropriateLAM should also avoid having too easy of a pull force. A minimum forcethreshold may be needed because, if a shade is too easy to lift, thenthe user may pull strong enough to generate great speed momentum whichcan cause damage as the hembar hits the top limit.

Moreover, such shade systems often include different shade sizes, shadefabrics, tube sizes, multi-banding options, channels, and otherconfigurations. Regardless of the type of shade system and itscomponents, the lift force needed to pull the chain should be maintainedaround 3-8.5 pounds. For ADA compliance, the lift force needed to pullthe chain should not surpass a 5 pound lift force limit. However, it isdifficult for a custom shade manufacturer to determine the appropriateLAM for a particular custom shade system that will result in aparticular lift force or a lift force range.

The LAM may also interact with a wrap spring clutch. Many variations ofwrap spring clutch systems for the operation of window shades have beendeveloped and are familiar to those skilled in the art. These clutchsystems typically employ a fixed cylindrical core shaft or stud aboutwhich a helical coil spring is positioned, a rotary drive member capableof controlling the inner diameter of the coil spring, and a bushingadapted to ensure engagement of the shaft, spring, and rotary members.During operation of the typical wrap spring system, the rotation of therotary drive member increases the inner diameter of the wrap spring,which reduces the friction between the core shaft and wrap spring,thereby allowing the lowering or raising of the window shade as desired.However, a large amount of force may be required when pulling the chain,in order to rotate the rotary drive member and increase the diameter ofthe spring.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,779,662 and 6,164,428 are examples of a window shadewrap spring clutch system, and are incorporated by reference in theirentirety for all purposes. The Wilk patent discloses a stationary studupon which is wound a wrap spring, wherein the wrap spring normally hugsor binds against the stud. A drive member in the form of a pulley ispositioned around the stud and wrap spring, such that, once the pulleyis rotated, the pulley inner bore can be placed in contact with oneradially-extended tang of the wrap spring. A “tang” is the end of thewrap spring extending radially from the circumference of the spring.During operation, the pulley is rotated manually by means of a chain.The manual rotation of the pulley causes the pulley inner bore tocontact a first wrap spring tang. Continued rotation of the pulleyseparates the spring tangs, thereby enlarging the effective insidediameter of the spring, allowing the spring to slip and rotate about thecore shaft. The portion of the wrap spring opposite the contacted tangslides along the core shaft member creating a friction drag, whichserves to stabilize the raising and lowering of the window shade duringoperation. However, a large amount of force may be required when pullingthe chain to rotate the pulley and separate the tangs. As such, a LAMmay be incorporated into the window shade system to interact with thewrap spring clutch and reduce the force needed to pull on the chain.

SUMMARY

Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture (collectively, the“system”) for determining the optimal lift assist mechanism for a windowshade system are disclosed. In various embodiments, the system uses adesired range of lift force to raise a window shade to select an optimallift assist mechanism (LAM). The system may be configured fordetermining, by a computer based system, that a window shade with afirst shade tube is below a deflection limit and a weight limit;determining, by the computer based system, a hanging weight for thewindow shade at multiple locations; determining, by the computer basedsystem, a RUD for the window shade at the multiple locations;determining, by the computer based system, a number of turns for thewindow shade at the multiple locations; determining, by the computerbased system, a pull force for the window shade at the multiplelocations based on the hanging weight, the RUD and the number of turns;determining, by the computer based system, a maximum pull force based onthe maximum of the pull forces at the multiple locations; selecting, bythe computer based system, a first LAM in response to the maximum pullforce being greater than a pull threshold; determining, by the computerbased system, that the first LAM is compatible with a first shade tube;determining, by the computer based system, that the number of turns isabove a turn threshold for the window shade at 100% down of the multiplelocations; determining, by the computer based system, pull forces forthe first LAM at the multiple locations; determining, by the computerbased system, that the pull forces for the first LAM are within a pullforce range at each of the multiple locations; and suggesting, by thecomputer based system, the first LAM for use with the window shade.

In various embodiments, the system may further be configured fordetermining, by the computer based system, a LAM that provides a maximumforce threshold and/or a minimum force threshold. The system may also beconfigured for analyzing, by the computer based system, at least one ofa shade size, shade fabric, size of the first shade tube, multi-bandingoption, fabric weight, hembar weight, channel or configuration for awindow shading system. The system may also be configured forsubstituting, by the computer based system, a second shade tube for thefirst shade tube, in response to the window shade with the first shadetube being above a deflection limit and a weight limit.

The multiple locations may include a first location, a second locationand a third location. The multiple locations may include 35% down, 75%down and 100% down. The threshold may be 9.6 pounds.

The system may also be configured for suggesting, by the computer basedsystem, no LAM in response to the maximum pull force being less than thepull threshold. Being compatible with the first shade tube may includethe first LAM fitting inside the first shade tube. The system may alsobe configured for selecting, by the computer based system, a secondshade tube, in response to the first LAM not being compatible with thefirst shade tube. The system may also be configured for determining, bythe computer based system, a second maximum pull force for a secondshade tube, in response to the first LAM not being compatible with thefirst shade tube. The system may also be configured for suggesting, bythe computer based system, a second LAM, in response to the determiningthat the pull forces for the first LAM are outside of a pull force rangeat any of the multiple locations.

Determining the pull forces for the first LAM may include subtractingthe torque of the spring at the multiple locations to find the worstcase from the torque of the window shade. Determining the pull force forthe first LAM may include considering the RUD and the number of turns.Determining the pull force for the first LAM may include the RUD and thenumber of turns at a 75% down and a 100% down locations of the multiplelocations. The pull force range may be between about 8.6 pounds andabout 5.5 pounds.

For shades of many sizes (large and small) the lift force range may bemaintained up to a predetermined maximum shade weight. The system mayallow for a configuration of different ranges of lift for differentranges of shades being offered. This may include considering variousweights and friction as may occur in single or multi-band window shades.The range of minimum lift force and maximum lift force may be determinedby the manufacturer or the buyer/end user.

The foregoing features and elements may be combined in variouscombinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated hereinotherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation of thedisclosed embodiments will become more apparent in light of thefollowing description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. Amore complete understanding of the present disclosure, however, may beobtained by referring to the detailed description and claims whenconsidered in connection with the drawing figures, wherein like numeralsdenote like elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a LAM within a window shade system, in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a LAM and its components, in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary flow chart of the process conducted by theconfigurator, in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As set forth in FIG. 1, in various embodiments, a window shade system100 may include a shade tube 105, a LAM spring assembly 110, one or morebrackets (drive end bracket assembly 115 and idle end bracket assembly120), a fabric roll 125 and an optional hembar 130. FIG. 2 illustratesmore detail of the LAM spring assembly 110. As set forth in FIG. 2, invarious embodiments, the LAM spring assembly 110 may include a tube 205(e.g., extruded aluminum), a decelerator plate 210, a spring 215, a tubeplug 220, a shaft head 225, a magnet 230 and a pawl 235.

In general, a desired range of lift force to raise a window shade isused to select the window shade hardware such as, for example, theoptimal LAM spring assembly 110. A desired lift force may be 5 poundsfor ADA compliance. However, if the user wants to exert less effort tolift the window shade, the user may request an increased lift force of 6or 7 pounds. Therefore, if a lift force range between 3-8.5 pounds isdesired, the system selects the optimal LAM spring assembly 110 tomaintain and guarantee that the lift force required to operate theshades will not exceed the desired range of between 3-8.5 pounds.

By using the desired lift force to select the optimal LAM springassembly 110, there is an opportunity to control more than one shadeband (e.g., multi-banded shade) so all the window bands liftsimultaneously or close to the same level. For example, depending on theheight of the shade band, the window shade system may include four5-foot wide bands as a multi-band shade, wherein one drive bracketuniformly lifts all four shades. A coupler (e.g., dog bone connector)interconnects each shade band together. The coupler may be looselycoupled between bands to be forgiving to installation misalignments. Theresulting working clearance between controlling surfaces on the couplermay cause the hem bar on each band to become slightly misaligned,stepping down from the drive band down to the idle band. Subsequentbands may have the same misalignment from the previous band, but thetotal misalignment from the first band to the last band is cumulative.Therefore, the further away the shade bands are from the drivemechanism, the greater likelihood that the hem bars for the shade bandstend to misalign. In various embodiments, the system may include a LAMspring assembly 110 installed within the farthest band from the driveband. Such a LAM spring assembly 110 installation may provide acounter-balancing force that may compensate or partially compensate forgravity to close-up the working clearances between coupled shade bands,thus reducing the hem bar misalignment across all bands.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the process flows depicted are merelyembodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.For example, the steps recited in any of the method or processdescriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to theorder presented. It will be appreciated that the following descriptionmakes appropriate references not only to the steps and user interfaceelements depicted in FIG. 3, but also to the various system componentsas described above with reference to FIG. 2. It should be understood atthe outset that, although exemplary embodiments are illustrated in thefigures and described below, the principles of the present disclosuremay be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currentlyknown or not. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to theexemplary implementations and techniques illustrated in the drawings anddescribed below. Unless otherwise specifically noted, articles depictedin the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

In various embodiments, the configurator system may obtain physicalmeasurements and/or mathematically model a window shade system (e.g.,standard single-banded wrap clutch system). The configurator system mayalso account for various physical characteristics of the window shadesystem.

In various embodiments, and as set forth in FIG. 3, the configuratorsystem may determine the pull force for lifting the shade by performinga pull force calculation based on the amount of torque required to startrotating the shade tube to lift the shade. As set forth in FIG. 3, invarious embodiments, the pull force may be based on using the weight 301of the hanging shade band and the rolled-up diameter (RUD) 302 of thefabric at a certain height combined with the diameter of the tube todetermine the amount of torque required to lift said shade band. Thepull force may be calculated at different shade locations (e.g., 35%down 309, 75% down 310, 100% down 311, etc). Additional torque isrequired to overcome the friction from the weight of the system on theidle end pin, friction from the weight of the system on the drive hubsitting on the supporting drive shaft, friction of the clutch and/orfriction of the chain being dragged across the opening of the housing.The pull force is any force that, when applied at the diameter of thesprocket, yields a torque that is greater than the torque imposed by thehanging weight of the shade band in addition to the static friction ofthe weight of the system on bearing components. The configurator mayalso analyze shade size, shade fabric, tube size, number of turns 303,multi-banding option, fabric weight, hembar weight, channel and/or otherconfigurations.

In various embodiments, the process for developing the configuratorsystem may include obtaining empirical data based on testing physicalsystems. The data may be normalized, processed, and then a best-fitequation developed (with margin) to fit the operational characteristics.The empirical data may be used to validate the pull force calculationsset forth above. In certain shade systems, the empirically derivedformula may account for unforeseen factors and be more accurate. Inthose cases, the empirically derived formula may be used in lieu of themathematically derived formula.

The selection process includes analyzing a weight limit 304 for theshade. If the weight limit 304 is greater than allowable, then such ashade needs to use another system that is within the weight limits. Ifthe shade is an allowable weight, then the system the uses smallest tubesize 306 available (e.g., 1.23 inch diameter tube) and checks the shadefor the maximum deflection 305. In various embodiments, and as set forthin FIG. 3, the process for a configurator system considers the optimaldeflection for tube selection. For example, the process may analyze ashade tube (e.g., 1.23 inch diameter) and analyze if the window shadetube meets or exceeds certain desired deflection limits and/or systemweight limits (e.g., based on preferences). The deflection limits 305and system weight limits 304 may be established and standardized basedon the width of the shade and type of fabric. For example, a deflectionand/or system weight that causes the window shade fabric to wrinkle maybe unacceptable. The wrinkling of the fabric may be further impacted bythe shade width or type of fabric. Therefore, if the window shade doesnot meet the desired deflection and/or system weight, then a differentsize tube (e.g., larger diameter tube) 307 is analyzed. If thedeflection exceeds the pre-determined allowable limit, the nextavailable larger size tube 307 is chosen for the same calculation.Subsequent tubes are chosen until an appropriate tube 308 is found. Ifno tube can satisfy the deflection limit, then the shade may not bepossible using the tubes available for the current system.

After the tube has been selected, in various embodiments, the systemdetermines the force for lifting the shade (as set forth FIG. 3 and asdiscussed above) at a variety of discrete locations 309, 310, 311 alongthe entire height of the shade system. If the lift force at any of thediscrete locations 309, 310, 311 along the entire height of the shade isless than the pre-determined acceptable limit for pull force without aspring, a spring is not used 312. If the lift force is greater than thepre-determined acceptable limit for pull force without a spring, thenanother calculation is performed using the weakest available spring inthe system.

Continuing with FIG. 3, the spring is checked to determine if it fitsinside the current shade tube 313. If it does not, a larger shade tubeis chosen for the next calculation. If the spring fits in the currentshade tube, then the spring is used for the next calculation. Themaximum number of turns that the spring is capable of is comparedagainst the number of turns required to fully roll up the shade with itsappropriate shade tube 314. If the maximum number of turns is exceeded,the next spring is chosen, otherwise the current spring and tube is usedfor the next calculation. This calculation calculates the torque thatthe spring provides at various discrete heights of the shade based onthe number of the turns required at this shade height and the amount oftorque per turn that the spring provides 315. The amount of torqueprovided by the spring subtracted by the amount of torque require tolift the shade (as set forth in FIG. 3 and as described above) is usedto calculate the pull force. If the pull force calculated is between acertain value (−3 and 8 lbs in this case) at every discrete heightcalculated 316, then the shade is possible using the currently chosenspring and tube combination 319. If the pull force is outside of thesevalues at any of the discrete heights, the next spring is chosen 317 andthe steps above may be repeated. If there is no stronger spring, thenthe system may not be able to be configured 318.

The detailed description of various embodiments herein makes referenceto the accompanying drawings, which show various embodiments by way ofillustration. While these various embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thedisclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may berealized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, thedetailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustrationonly and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of themethod or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are notlimited to the order presented. Moreover, any of the functions or stepsmay be outsourced to or performed by one or more third parties.Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems,apparatuses, and methods described herein without departing from thescope of the disclosure. For example, the components of the systems andapparatuses may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations ofthe systems and apparatuses disclosed herein may be performed by more,fewer, or other components and the methods described may include more,fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in anysuitable order. As used in this document, “each” refers to each memberof a set or each member of a subset of a set. Furthermore, any referenceto singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more thanone component may include a singular embodiment Although specificadvantages have been enumerated herein, various embodiments may includesome, none, or all of the enumerated advantages.

This disclosure incorporates by reference for all purposes the entirecontents of all of the following applications. U.S. Ser. No. 15/968,564filed on May 1, 2018 and entitled “Window Shade System Safety Device”.U.S. Ser. No. 16/240,479 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser.No. 15/906,674 filed on Feb. 27, 2018 and entitled “Sky Camera Systemfor Intelligent Building Control”. U.S. Ser. No. 15/906,674 is anon-provisional of, and claims priority to, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/513,733 filed on Jun. 1, 2017 and entitled “SkyCamera System for Intelligent Building Control.” U.S. Ser. No.15/906,674 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 14/692,868filed on Apr. 22, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,938,765 entitled “AutomatedShade Control System Interaction with Building Management System.” U.S.Ser. No. 14/692,868 is a continuation of PCT Application No.PCT/US2013/066316 filed on Oct. 23, 2013 and entitled “Automated ShadeControl System Utilizing Brightness Modeling”. PCT Application No.PCT/US2013/066316 is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/671,018 filed onNov. 7, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,890,456 entitled “Automated ShadeControl System Utilizing Brightness Modeling”. U.S. Ser. No. 13/671,018is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 13/556,388 filed on Jul. 24,2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,432,117 entitled “Automated Shade ControlSystem”. U.S. Ser. No. 13/556,388 is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.13/343,912 filed on Jan. 5, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,248,014 entitled“Automated Shade Control System”.

Systems, methods, and computer program products are provided. In thedetailed description herein, references to “various embodiments,” “oneembodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicatethat the embodiment described may include a particular feature,structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarilyinclude the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover,such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic isdescribed in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it iswithin the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature,structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodimentswhether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, itwill be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implementthe disclosure in alternative embodiments.

As used herein, “satisfy,” “meet,” “match,” “associated with”, orsimilar phrases may include an identical match, a partial match, meetingcertain criteria, matching a subset of data, a correlation, satisfyingcertain criteria, a correspondence, an association, an algorithmicrelationship, and/or the like.

Terms and phrases similar to “associate” and/or “associating” mayinclude tagging, flagging, correlating, using a look-up table or anyother method or system for indicating or creating a relationship betweenelements. Any of the information may be distributed and/or accessed viaa software enabled link, wherein the link may be sent via an email,text, post, social network input, and/or any other method known in theart.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory and/or secondary memory. Computer programs mayalso be received via communications interface. Such computer programs,when executed, enable the computer system to perform the features asdiscussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed,enable the processor to perform the features of various embodiments.Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of thecomputer system.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructionsthat execute on the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may alsobe stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

In various embodiments, software may be stored in a computer programproduct and loaded into a computer system using removable storage drive,hard disk drive, or communications interface. The control logic(software), when executed by the processor, causes the processor toperform the functions of various embodiments as described herein. Invarious embodiments, hardware components may take the form ofapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of thehardware state machine so as to perform the functions described hereinwill be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the systemmay be embodied as a customization of an existing system, an add-onproduct, a processing apparatus executing upgraded software, astand-alone system, a distributed system, a method, a data processingsystem, a device for data processing, and/or a computer program product.Accordingly, any portion of the system or a module may take the form ofa processing apparatus executing code, an internet based embodiment, anentirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining aspects of theinternet, software, and hardware. Furthermore, the system may take theform of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable program code means embodied in the storagemedium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized,including hard disks, CD-ROM, BLU-RAY DISC®, optical storage devices,magnetic storage devices, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, components, modules, and/or engines of system100 may be implemented as micro-applications or micro-apps. Micro-appsare typically deployed in the context of a mobile operating system,including for example, a WINDOWS® mobile operating system, an ANDROID®operating system, an APPLE® iOS operating system, a BLACKBERRY®company's operating system, and the like. The micro-app may beconfigured to leverage the resources of the larger operating system andassociated hardware via a set of predetermined rules which govern theoperations of various operating systems and hardware resources. Forexample, where a micro-app desires to communicate with a device ornetwork other than the mobile device or mobile operating system, themicro-app may leverage the communication protocol of the operatingsystem and associated device hardware under the predetermined rules ofthe mobile operating system. Moreover, where the micro-app desires aninput from a user, the micro-app may be configured to request a responsefrom the operating system which monitors various hardware components andthen communicates a detected input from the hardware to the micro-app.

The system and method may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, screen shots, optional selections, and variousprocessing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocksmay be realized by any number of hardware and/or software componentsconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, the systemmay employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements,processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, whichmay carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of the system may be implemented with any programming orscripting language such as C, C++, C#, JAVA®, JAVASCRIPT®, JAVASCRIPT®Object Notation (JSON), VBScript, Macromedia COLD FUSION, COBOL,MICROSOFT® company's Active Server Pages, assembly, PERL®, PHP, awk,PYTHON®, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, PL/SQL, any UNIX® shellscript, and extensible markup language (XML) with the various algorithmsbeing implemented with any combination of data structures, objects,processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, it should benoted that the system may employ any number of conventional techniquesfor data transmission, signaling, data processing, network control, andthe like. Still further, the system could be used to detect or preventsecurity issues with a client-side scripting language, such asJAVASCRIPT®, VBScript, or the like. For a basic introduction ofcryptography and network security, see any of the following references:(1) “Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C,”by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition,1995); (2) “JAVA® Cryptography” by Jonathan Knudson, published byO'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3) “Cryptography & Network Security:Principles & Practice” by William Stallings, published by Prentice Hall;all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The system and method are described herein with reference to screenshots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus,and computer program products according to various embodiments. It willbe understood that each functional block of the block diagrams and theflowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks in theblock diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can beimplemented by computer program instructions.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions. Further, illustrations ofthe process flows and the descriptions thereof may make reference touser WINDOWS® applications, webpages, websites, web forms, prompts, etc.Practitioners will appreciate that the illustrated steps describedherein may comprise in any number of configurations including the use ofWINDOWS® applications, webpages, web forms, popup WINDOWS® applications,prompts, and the like. It should be further appreciated that themultiple steps as illustrated and described may be combined into singlewebpages and/or WINDOWS® applications but have been expanded for thesake of simplicity. In other cases, steps illustrated and described assingle process steps may be separated into multiple webpages and/orWINDOWS® applications but have been combined for simplicity.

In various embodiments, the software elements of the system may also beimplemented using NODE.JS® components. NODE.JS® programs may implementseveral modules to handle various core functionalities. For example, apackage management module, such as NPM®, may be implemented as an opensource library to aid in organizing the installation and management ofthird-party NODE.JS® programs. NODE.JS® programs may also implement aprocess manager, such as, for example, Parallel Multithreaded Machine(“PM2”); a resource and performance monitoring tool, such as, forexample, Node Application Metrics (“appmetrics”); a library module forbuilding user interfaces, and/or any other suitable and/or desiredmodule.

Middleware may include any hardware and/or software suitably configuredto facilitate communications and/or process transactions betweendisparate computing systems. Middleware components are commerciallyavailable and known in the art. Middleware may be implemented throughcommercially available hardware and/or software, through custom hardwareand/or software components, or through a combination thereof Middlewaremay reside in a variety of configurations and may exist as a standalonesystem or may be a software component residing on the internet server.Middleware may be configured to process transactions between the variouscomponents of an application server and any number of internal orexternal systems for any of the purposes disclosed herein. WEBSPHERE®MQ™ (formerly MQSeries) by IBM®, Inc. (Armonk, N.Y.) is an example of acommercially available middleware product. An Enterprise Service Bus(“ESB”) application is another example of middleware.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or otherinternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. Inone embodiment, MICROSOFT® company's Internet Information Services(IIS), Transaction Server (MTS) service, and an SQL SERVER® database,are used in conjunction with MICROSOFT® operating systems, WINDOWS NT®web server software, SQL SERVER® database, and MICROSOFT® CommerceServer. Additionally, components such as ACCESS® software, SQL SERVER®database, ORACLE® software, SYBASE® software, INFORMIX® software, MYSQL®software, INTERBASE® software, etc., may be used to provide an ActiveData Object (ADO) compliant database management system. In oneembodiment, the APACHE® web server is used in conjunction with a LINUX®operating system, a MYSQL® database, and PERL®, PHP, Ruby, and/orPYTHON® programming languages.

In various embodiments, the methods described herein are implementedusing the various particular machines described herein. The methodsdescribed herein may be implemented using the below particular machines,and those hereinafter developed, in any suitable combination, as wouldbe appreciated immediately by one skilled in the art. Further, as isunambiguous from this disclosure, the methods described herein mayresult in various transformations of certain articles.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processorfor storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processorfor inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memoryand accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memoryfor displaying information derived from digital data processed by theprocessor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used hereinmay include: client data; merchant data; financial institution data;and/or like data useful in the operation of the system. As those skilledin the art will appreciate, user computer may include an operatingsystem (e.g., WINDOWS®, UNIX®, LINUX®, SOLARIS®, MACOS®, etc.) as wellas various conventional support software and drivers typicallyassociated with computers.

The present system or any part(s) or function(s) thereof may beimplemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof and maybe implemented in one or more computer systems or other processingsystems. However, the manipulations performed by embodiments were oftenreferred to in terms, such as matching or selecting, which are commonlyassociated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No suchcapability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases,in any of the operations described herein. Rather, the operations may bemachine operations or any of the operations may be conducted or enhancedby artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning. Artificialintelligence may refer generally to the study of agents (e.g., machines,computer-based systems, etc.) that perceive the world around them, formplans, and make decisions to achieve their goals. Foundations of AIinclude mathematics, logic, philosophy, probability, linguistics,neuroscience, and decision theory. Many fields fall under the umbrellaof AI, such as computer vision, robotics, machine learning, and naturallanguage processing. Useful machines for performing the variousembodiments include general purpose digital computers or similardevices.

In various embodiments, the embodiments are directed toward one or morecomputer systems capable of carrying out the functionalities describedherein. The computer system includes one or more processors. Theprocessor is connected to a communication infrastructure (e.g., acommunications bus, cross over bar, network, etc.). Various softwareembodiments are described in terms of this exemplary computer system.After reading this description, it will become apparent to a personskilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement various embodimentsusing other computer systems and/or architectures. The computer systemcan include a display interface that forwards graphics, text, and otherdata from the communication infrastructure (or from a frame buffer notshown) for display on a display unit.

The computer system also includes a main memory, such as random accessmemory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory. The secondarymemory may include, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid-state drive,and/or a removable storage drive. The removable storage drive reads fromand/or writes to a removable storage unit in a well-known manner. Aswill be appreciated, the removable storage unit includes a computerusable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/ordata.

In various embodiments, secondary memory may include other similardevices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into a computer system. Such devices may include, for example, aremovable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such may include aprogram cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in videogame devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM), programmable read only memory (PROM)) andassociated socket, or other removable storage units and interfaces,which allow software and data to be transferred from the removablestorage unit to a computer system.

The terms “computer program medium,” “computer usable medium,” and“computer readable medium” are used to generally refer to media such asremovable storage drive and a hard disk installed in hard disk drive.These computer program products provide software to a computer system.

The computer system may also include a communications interface. Acommunications interface allows software and data to be transferredbetween the computer system and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface may include a modem, a network interface (suchas an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal Computer MemoryCard International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software anddata transferred via the communications interface are in the form ofsignals which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or othersignals capable of being received by communications interface. Thesesignals are provided to communications interface via a communicationspath (e.g., channel). This channel carries signals and may beimplemented using wire, cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, acellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link, wireless and othercommunications channels.

As used herein an “identifier” may be any suitable identifier thatuniquely identifies an item. For example, the identifier may be aglobally unique identifier (“GUID”). The GUID may be an identifiercreated and/or implemented under the universally unique identifierstandard. Moreover, the GUID may be stored as 128-bit value that can bedisplayed as 32 hexadecimal digits. The identifier may also include amajor number, and a minor number. The major number and minor number mayeach be 16 bit integers.

In various embodiments, the server may include application servers (e.g.WEBSPHERE®, WEBLOGIC®, JBOSS®, POSTGRES PLUS ADVANCED SERVER®, etc.). Invarious embodiments, the server may include web servers (e.g. Apache,IIS, GOOGLE® Web Server, SUN JAVA® System Web Server, JAVA® VirtualMachine running on LINUX® or WINDOWS® operating systems).

A web client includes any device or software which communicates via anynetwork, such as, for example any device or software discussed herein.The web client may include internet browsing software installed within acomputing unit or system to conduct communications. These computingunits or systems may take the form of a computer or set of computers,although other types of computing units or systems may be used,including personal computers, laptops, notebooks, tablets, smart phones,cellular phones, personal digital assistants, servers, pooled servers,mainframe computers, distributed computing clusters, kiosks, terminals,point of sale (POS) devices or terminals, televisions, or any otherdevice capable of receiving data over a network. The web client mayinclude an operating system (e.g., WINDOWS®, WINDOWS MOBILE® operatingsystems, UNIX® operating system, LINUX® operating systems, APPLE® OS®operating systems, etc.) as well as various conventional supportsoftware and drivers typically associated with computers. The web-clientmay also run MICROSOFT® INTERNET EXPLORER® software, MOZILLA® FIREFOX®software, GOOGLE® CHROME® software, APPLE® SAFARI® software, or anyother of the myriad software packages available for browsing theinternet.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the web client may or maynot be in direct contact with the server (e.g., application server, webserver, etc., as discussed herein). For example, the web client mayaccess the services of the server through another server and/or hardwarecomponent, which may have a direct or indirect connection to an internetserver. For example, the web client may communicate with the server viaa load balancer. In various embodiments, web client access is through anetwork or the internet through a commercially-available web-browsersoftware package. In that regard, the web client may be in a home orbusiness environment with access to the network or the internet. The webclient may implement security protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer(SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS). A web client may implementseveral application layer protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, andSFTP.

The various system components may be independently, separately, orcollectively suitably coupled to the network via data links whichincludes, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider(ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection withstandard modem communication, cable modem, DISH NETWORK®, ISDN, DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods, see,e.g., GILBERT HELD, UNDERSTANDING DATA COMMUNICATIONS (1996), which ishereby incorporated by reference. It is noted that the network may beimplemented as other types of networks, such as an interactivetelevision (ITV) network. Moreover, the system contemplates the use,sale, or distribution of any goods, services, or information over anynetwork having similar functionality described herein.

The system contemplates uses in association with web services, utilitycomputing, pervasive and individualized computing, security and identitysolutions, autonomic computing, cloud computing, commodity computing,mobility and wireless solutions, open source, biometrics, gridcomputing, and/or mesh computing.

Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases or displaysdiscussed herein may be facilitated through a website having web pages.The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the typeof documents and applications that might be used to interact with theuser. For example, a typical website might include, in addition tostandard HTML documents, various forms, JAVA® applets, JAVASCRIPT®programs, active server pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts(CGI), extensible markup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading stylesheets (CSS), AJAX (Asynchronous JAVASCRIPT And XML) programs, helperapplications, plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a web servicethat receives a request from a web server, the request including a URLand an IP address (192.168.1.1). The web server retrieves theappropriate web pages and sends the data or applications for the webpages to the IP address. Web services are applications that are capableof interacting with other applications over a communications means, suchas the internet. Web services are typically based on standards orprotocols such as XML, SOAP, AJAX, WSDL and UDDI. Web services methodsare well known in the art, and are covered in many standard texts. See,e.g., ALEX NGHIEM, IT WEB SERVICES: A ROADMAP FOR THE ENTERPRISE (2003),hereby incorporated by reference. For example, representational statetransfer (REST), or RESTful, web services may provide one way ofenabling interoperability between applications.

The computing unit of the web client may be further equipped with aninternet browser connected to the internet or an intranet using standarddial-up, cable, DSL, or any other internet protocol known in the art.Transactions originating at a web client may pass through a firewall inorder to prevent unauthorized access from users of other networks.Further, additional firewalls may be deployed between the varyingcomponents of CMS to further enhance security.

Encryption may be performed by way of any of the techniques nowavailable in the art or which may become available—e.g., Twofish, RSA,El Gamal, Schorr signature, DSA, PGP, PM, GPG (GnuPG), HPEFormat-Preserving Encryption (FPE), Voltage, Triple DES, Blowfish, AES,MD5, HMAC, IDEA, RC6, and symmetric and asymmetric cryptosystems. Thesystems and methods may also incorporate SHA series cryptographicmethods, elliptic curve cryptography (e.g., ECC, ECDH, ECDSA, etc.),and/or other post-quantum cryptography algorithms under development.

The firewall may include any hardware and/or software suitablyconfigured to protect

CMS components and/or enterprise computing resources from users of othernetworks. Further, a firewall may be configured to limit or restrictaccess to various systems and components behind the firewall for webclients connecting through a web server. Firewall may reside in varyingconfigurations including Stateful Inspection, Proxy based, accesscontrol lists, and Packet Filtering among others. Firewall may beintegrated within a web server or any other CMS components or mayfurther reside as a separate entity. A firewall may implement networkaddress translation (“NAT”) and/or network address port translation(“NAPT”). A firewall may accommodate various tunneling protocols tofacilitate secure communications, such as those used in virtual privatenetworking. A firewall may implement a demilitarized zone (“DMZ”) tofacilitate communications with a public network such as the internet. Afirewall may be integrated as software within an internet server, anyother application server components or may reside within anothercomputing device or may take the form of a standalone hardwarecomponent.

Any databases discussed herein may include relational, hierarchical,graphical, blockchain, object-oriented structure, and/or any otherdatabase configurations. Any database may also include a flat filestructure wherein data may be stored in a single file in the form ofrows and columns, with no structure for indexing and no structuralrelationships between records. For example, a flat file structure mayinclude a delimited text file, a CSV (comma-separated values) file,and/or any other suitable flat file structure. Common database productsthat may be used to implement the databases include DB2® by IBM®(Armonk, N.Y.), various database products available from ORACLE®Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.), MICROSOFT ACCESS® or MICROSOFT SQLSERVER® by MICROSOFT® Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), MYSQL® by MySQL AB(Uppsala, Sweden), MONGODB®, Redis, APACHE CASSANDRA®, HBASE® byAPACHE®, MapR-DB by the MAPR® corporation, or any other suitabledatabase product. Moreover, any database may be organized in anysuitable manner, for example, as data tables or lookup tables. Eachrecord may be a single file, a series of files, a linked series of datafields, or any other data structure.

As used herein, big data may refer to partially or fully structured,semi-structured, or unstructured data sets including millions of rowsand hundreds of thousands of columns. A big data set may be compiled,for example, from a history of transactions over time, from webregistrations, from social media, from internal data, or from othersuitable sources. Big data sets may be compiled without descriptivemetadata such as column types, counts, percentiles, or otherinterpretive-aid data points.

Association of certain data may be accomplished through any desired dataassociation technique such as those known or practiced in the art. Forexample, the association may be accomplished either manually orautomatically. Automatic association techniques may include, forexample, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, using akey field in the tables to speed searches, sequential searches throughall the tables and files, sorting records in the file according to aknown order to simplify lookup, and/or the like. The association stepmay be accomplished by a database merge function, for example, using a“key field” in pre-selected databases or data sectors. Various databasetuning steps are contemplated to optimize database performance. Forexample, frequently used files such as indexes may be placed on separatefile systems to reduce In/Out (“I/O”) bottlenecks.

More particularly, a “key field” partitions the database according tothe high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example,certain types of data may be designated as a key field in a plurality ofrelated data tables and the data tables may then be linked on the basisof the type of data in the key field. The data corresponding to the keyfield in each of the linked data tables is preferably the same or of thesame type. However, data tables having similar, though not identical,data in the key fields may also be linked by using AGREP, for example.In accordance with one embodiment, any suitable data storage techniquemay be utilized to store data without a standard format. Data sets maybe stored using any suitable technique, including, for example, storingindividual files using an ISO/IEC 7816-4 file structure; implementing adomain whereby a dedicated file is selected that exposes one or moreelementary files containing one or more data sets; using data setsstored in individual files using a hierarchical filing system; data setsstored as records in a single file (including compression, SQLaccessible, hashed via one or more keys, numeric, alphabetical by firsttuple, etc.); data stored as Binary Large Object (BLOB); data stored asungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IEC 7816-6 data elements; datastored as ungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IEC Abstract SyntaxNotation (ASN.1) as in ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825; other proprietarytechniques that may include fractal compression methods, imagecompression methods, etc.

In various embodiments, the ability to store a wide variety ofinformation in different formats is facilitated by storing theinformation as a BLOB. Thus, any binary information can be stored in astorage space associated with a data set. As discussed above, the binaryinformation may be stored in association with the system or external tobut affiliated with system. The BLOB method may store data sets asungrouped data elements formatted as a block of binary via a fixedmemory offset using either fixed storage allocation, circular queuetechniques, or best practices with respect to memory management (e.g.,paged memory, least recently used, etc.). By using BLOB methods, theability to store various data sets that have different formatsfacilitates the storage of data, in the database or associated with thesystem, by multiple and unrelated owners of the data sets. For example,a first data set which may be stored may be provided by a first party, asecond data set which may be stored may be provided by an unrelatedsecond party, and yet a third data set which may be stored, may beprovided by an third party unrelated to the first and second party. Eachof these three exemplary data sets may contain different informationthat is stored using different data storage formats and/or techniques.Further, each data set may contain subsets of data that also may bedistinct from other subsets.

As stated above, in various embodiments, the data can be stored withoutregard to a common format. However, the data set (e.g., BLOB) may beannotated in a standard manner when provided for manipulating the datain the database or system. The annotation may comprise a short header,trailer, or other appropriate indicator related to each data set that isconfigured to convey information useful in managing the various datasets. For example, the annotation may be called a “condition header,”“header,” “trailer,” or “status,” herein, and may comprise an indicationof the status of the data set or may include an identifier correlated toa specific issuer or owner of the data. In one example, the first threebytes of each data set BLOB may be configured or configurable toindicate the status of that particular data set; e.g., LOADED,INITIALIZED, READY, BLOCKED, REMOVABLE, or DELETED. Each of thesecondition annotations are further discussed herein.

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of statusinformation as well as various other purposes. For example, the data setannotation may include security information establishing access levels.The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certainindividuals, levels of employees, companies, or other entities to accessdata sets, or to permit access to specific data sets based on status.Furthermore, the security information may restrict/permit only certainactions such as accessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In oneexample, the data set annotation indicates that only the data set owneror the user are permitted to delete a data set, various identified usersmay be permitted to access the data set for reading, and others arealtogether excluded from accessing the data set. However, other accessrestriction parameters may also be used allowing various entities toaccess a data set with various permission levels as appropriate.

The data, including the header or trailer, may be received by astandalone interaction device configured to add, delete, modify, oraugment the data in accordance with the header or trailer. As such, inone embodiment, the header or trailer is not stored on the transactiondevice along with the associated issuer-owned data but instead theappropriate action may be taken by providing to the user at thestandalone device, the appropriate option for the action to be taken.The system may contemplate a data storage arrangement wherein the headeror trailer, or header or trailer history, of the data is stored on thesystem or device in relation to the appropriate data.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons,any databases, systems, devices, servers, or other components of thesystem may consist of any combination thereof at a single location or atmultiple locations, wherein each database or system includes any ofvarious suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes,encryption, decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

Practitioners will also appreciate that there are a number of methodsfor displaying data within a browser-based document. Data may berepresented as standard text or within a fixed list, scrollable list,drop-down list, editable text field, fixed text field, pop-up window,and the like. Likewise, there are a number of methods available formodifying data in a web page such as, for example, free text entry usinga keyboard, selection of menu items, check boxes, option boxes, and thelike.

Distributed computing cluster may be, for example, a HADOOP® softwarecluster configured to process and store big data sets with some of nodescomprising a distributed storage system and some of nodes comprising adistributed processing system. In that regard, distributed computingcluster may be configured to support a HADOOP® software distributed filesystem (HDFS) as specified by the Apache Software Foundation atwww.hadoop.apache.org/docs. As used herein, the term “network” includesany cloud, cloud computing system, or electronic communications systemor method which incorporates hardware and/or software components.Communication among the parties may be accomplished through any suitablecommunication channels, such as, for example, a telephone network, anextranet, an intranet, internet, point of interaction device (point ofsale device, personal digital assistant (e.g., an IPHONE® device, aBLACKBERRY® device), cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), onlinecommunications, satellite communications, off-line communications,wireless communications, transponder communications, local area network(LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network (VPN), networkedor linked devices, keyboard, mouse, and/or any suitable communication ordata input modality. Moreover, although the system is frequentlydescribed herein as being implemented with TCP/IP communicationsprotocols, the system may also be implemented using IPX, APPLETALK®program, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI, any tunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH,etc.), or any number of existing or future protocols. If the network isin the nature of a public network, such as the internet, it may beadvantageous to presume the network to be insecure and open toeavesdroppers. Specific information related to the protocols, standards,and application software utilized in connection with the internet isgenerally known to those skilled in the art and, as such, need not bedetailed herein. See, for example, DILIP NAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS ANDPROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA® 2 COMPLETE, various authors, (Sybex 1999);DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0 (1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IPCLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997) and DAVID GOURLEY AND BRIAN TOTTY, HTTP, THEDEFINITIVE GUIDE (2002), the contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

“Cloud” or “Cloud computing” includes a model for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may includelocation-independent computing, whereby shared servers provideresources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand.For more information regarding cloud computing, see the NIST's (NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computing atwww.csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145 (last visitedJune 2012), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As used herein, “transmit” may include sending electronic data from onesystem component to another over a network connection. Additionally, asused herein, “data” may include encompassing information such ascommands, queries, files, data for storage, and the like in digital orany other form. For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking,application development, and other functional aspects of the systems(and components of the individual operating components of the systems)may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting linesshown in the various figures contained herein are intended to representexemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between thevarious elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical system.

Any database discussed herein may comprise a distributed ledgermaintained by a plurality of computing devices (e.g., nodes) over apeer-to-peer network. Each computing device maintains a copy and/orpartial copy of the distributed ledger and communicates with one or moreother computing devices in the network to validate and write data to thedistributed ledger. The distributed ledger may use features andfunctionality of blockchain technology, including, for example,consensus based validation, immutability, and cryptographically chainedblocks of data. The blockchain may comprise a ledger of interconnectedblocks containing data. The blockchain may provide enhanced securitybecause each block may hold individual transactions and the results ofany blockchain executables. Each block may link to the previous blockand may include a timestamp. Blocks may be linked because each block mayinclude the hash of the prior block in the blockchain. The linked blocksform a chain, with only one successor block allowed to link to one otherpredecessor block for a single chain. Forks may be possible wheredivergent chains are established from a previously uniform blockchain,though typically only one of the divergent chains will be maintained asthe consensus chain. In various embodiments, the blockchain mayimplement smart contracts that enforce data workflows in a decentralizedmanner. The system may also include applications deployed on userdevices such as, for example, computers, tablets, smartphones, Internetof Things devices (“IoT” devices), etc. The applications may communicatewith the blockchain (e.g., directly or via a blockchain node) totransmit and retrieve data. In various embodiments, a governingorganization or consortium may control access to data stored on theblockchain. Registration with the managing organization(s) may enableparticipation in the blockchain network.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure isaccordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in whichreference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one andonly one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.”Moreover, where a phrase similar to ‘at least one of A, B, and C’ or ‘atleast one of A, B, or C’ is used in the claims or specification, it isintended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may bepresent in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, Calone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of theelements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example,A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.

Although the disclosure includes a method, it is contemplated that itmay be embodied as computer program instructions on a tangiblecomputer-readable carrier, such as a magnetic or optical memory or amagnetic or optical disk. All structural, mechanical, electrical, andfunctional equivalents to the elements of the above-described variousembodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is not necessary for adevice or method to address each and every problem sought to be solvedby the present disclosure, for it to be encompassed by the presentclaims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in thepresent disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardlessof whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recitedin the claims. No claim element is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f)unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or“step for”. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or anyother variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusiveinclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus thatcomprises a list of elements does not include only those elements butmay include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to suchprocess, method, article, or apparatus.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising using a desired range of liftforce threshold to raise a window shade to select an optimal lift assistmechanism (LAM).
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining, by the computer based system, a LAM that provides a maximumforce of the lift force threshold.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising determining, by the computer based system, the LAM thatprovides a minimum force of the lift force threshold.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising determining, by the computer based system, aLAM that provides a maximum force of the lift force threshold and aminimum of the lift force force threshold.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the selecting the optimal LAM comprises: determining, by acomputer based system, that a window shade with a first shade tube isbelow a deflection limit and a weight limit; determining, by thecomputer based system, a hanging weight for the window shade at multiplelocations; determining, by the computer based system, a RUD for thewindow shade at the multiple locations; determining, by the computerbased system, a number of turns for the window shade at the multiplelocations; determining, by the computer based system, a pull force forthe window shade at the multiple locations based on the hanging weight,the RUD and the number of turns; determining, by the computer basedsystem, a maximum pull force based on the maximum of the pull forces atthe multiple locations; selecting, by the computer based system, a firstLAM in response to the maximum pull force being greater than a pullthreshold; determining, by the computer based system, that the first LAMis compatible with a first shade tube; determining, by the computerbased system, that the number of turns is above a turn threshold for thewindow shade at 100% down of the multiple locations; determining, by thecomputer based system, pull forces for the first LAM at the multiplelocations; determining, by the computer based system, that the pullforces for the first LAM are within a pull force range at each of themultiple locations; and suggesting, by the computer based system, thefirst LAM for use with the window shade.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising analyzing, by the computer based system, at least oneof a shade size, shade fabric, size of the first shade tube,multi-banding option, fabric weight, hembar weight, channel orconfiguration for a window shading system.
 7. The method of claim 5,further comprising substituting, by the computer based system, a secondshade tube for the first shade tube, in response to the window shadewith the first shade tube being above a deflection limit and a weightlimit.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the multiple locations includea first location, a second location and a third location.
 9. The methodof claim 5, wherein the multiple locations include 35% down, 75% downand 100% down.
 10. The method of claim 5, wherein the threshold is 9.6pounds.
 11. The method of claim 5, further comprising suggesting, by thecomputer based system, no LAM in response to the maximum pull forcebeing less than the pull threshold.
 12. The method of claim 5, whereinbeing compatible with the first shade tube includes the first LAMfitting inside the first shade tube.
 13. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising selecting, by the computer based system, a second shade tube,in response to the first LAM not being compatible with the first shadetube.
 14. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining, by thecomputer based system, a second maximum pull force for a second shadetube, in response to the first LAM not being compatible with the firstshade tube.
 15. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the pullforces for the first LAM includes subtracting the torque of the springat the multiple locations to find the worst case from the torque of thewindow shade.
 16. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining thepull force for the first LAM includes analyzing the RUD and the numberof turns.
 17. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the pullforce for the first LAM includes the RUD and the number of turns at a75% down and a 100% down locations of the multiple locations.
 18. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the pull force range is between about 8.6pounds and about −5.5 pounds.
 19. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising suggesting, by the computer based system, a second LAM, inresponse to the determining that the pull forces for the first LAM areoutside of a pull force range at any of the multiple locations.
 20. Asystem comprising: a processor; and a tangible, non-transitory memoryconfigured to communicate with the processor, the tangible,non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, inresponse to execution by the processor, cause the processor to performoperations comprising: determining, by the computer based system, that awindow shade with a first shade tube is below a deflection limit and aweight limit; determining, by the computer based system, a hangingweight for the window shade at multiple locations; determining, by thecomputer based system, a RUD for the window shade at the multiplelocations; determining, by the computer based system, a number of turnsfor the window shade at the multiple locations; determining, by thecomputer based system, a pull force for the window shade at the multiplelocations based on the hanging weight, the RUD and the number of turns;determining, by the computer based system, a maximum pull force based onthe maximum of the pull forces at the multiple locations; selecting, bythe computer based system, a first LAM in response to the maximum pullforce being greater than a pull threshold; determining, by the computerbased system, that the first LAM is compatible with a first shade tube;determining, by the computer based system, that the number of turns isabove a turn threshold for the window shade at 100% down of the multiplelocations; determining, by the computer based system, pull forces forthe first LAM at the multiple locations; determining, by the computerbased system, that the pull forces for the first LAM are within a pullforce range at each of the multiple locations; and suggesting, by thecomputer based system, the first LAM for use with the window shade.